Beneath Hyrule's Skies
by Crimson's Void
Summary: A growing collection of oneshots written for a challenge I have given myself; to write a fic a day for two hundred days. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!
1. Introduction

_200 Day Fic Challenge: Day 1_

_Prompt: Introduction_

_Characters: Medli, Komali, Komali's Grandmother (Drèa)_

_Word Count: 300_

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><p>"Medli, darling, this is Komali, my grandson. Komali, Medli is training with me to become the next attendant to Valoo. Why don't you say hello?"<p>

The young Rito hiding behind his grandmother's skirts said nothing as he peered curiously at the girl in question. Rolling her eyes at his behaviour, Lady Drèa ushered Komali out from behind her and gave him a gentle push towards Medli. He stumbled forward, stopping just before he crashed into her, then shot a glare over his shoulder at Drèa.

"What was that for?"

"Encouragement. Now go on, introduce yourself!"

As it turns out, Komali didn't really have to. Once he'd turned back to Medli, the Rito girl smiled brightly and held her hand out. As he glanced at her hand in slight confusion, Komali noted idly that Medli was still wingless. She couldn't have been much older than him, he supposed.

Sensing his befuddlement, Medli let out a tinkling little laugh, then clasped his hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze and a shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Prince Komali! I hope we can be friends."

"... I, uh... I d-do too."

Smiling at the interaction between the two, Drèa glanced at the sundial near the window and feigned a gasp. "Why, Medli, we've been studying Ancient Hylian for three hours now! Komali, why don't you take her and show her some of your favourite spots on the island? Valoo knows she could use a little break."

Glancing between his grandmother and Medli, who's hand he still held, Komali nodded. Heading for the door, he tugged her along behind him gently.

"Come on. There's this little pond further down the mountain, near the beach. No one ever comes there because it's so close to the water."

"It sounds perfect! Let's go!"


	2. Complicated

_200 Day Fic Challenge: Day 2_

_Prompt: Complicated_

_Characters: Link, Sheik, Navi_

_Word Count: 1389_

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><p><em>I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time...<em>

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><p>A bright azure light filled the Chamber of the Master Sword like a lightening strike during a storm. From his perch on the sole window in the room, Sheik shut his eyes tightly and looked away.<p>

_'Could it be... is he...?'_

Once the lingering light behind his eyelids had faded, Sheik turned his gaze back to the pedestal he had been watching. Sure enough, the one he had so patiently been waiting for stood there, watching his fairy companion as she floated excitedly around his head, no doubt chattering about what their next move should be.

As the duo descended the steps surrounding the pedestal, Sheik jumped from the window ledge and landed in a crouch on the stone floor. As quiet as the shadows around him, he approached them from behind, stopping once he stood within the ray of light coming from the window. He made to speak, but was interrupted by the metallic shing of a sword being drawn and pointed towards his throat.

Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting _this_.

Eyeing the blade warily, Sheik's gaze travelled up it's length. Lingering on it's hilt for a moment, he offered a silent prayer before completing his observation and resting his eyes on the face of the person who held it.

Vermillion orbs locked with those coloured the same lazuline shade the stream of time had been.

_'Link...'_

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><p><em>The flow of time is always cruel...<em>

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><p>Sheik nearly laughed aloud at the incredulous look Link gave him when he pulled out his harp. Strumming the strings experimentally a few times, he rolled his eyes.<p>

"You own the Ocarina of Time, Link. Already you have knowledge of several songs that do extraordinary thing. Why should this one be any stranger?"

"I just... a song that _warps _you from place to place? That would've been useful to have seven years ago, so I could've just avoided all those stalchildren." Link looked rather sour as he spoke, but nonetheless retrieved the ocarina from his pouch. Smiling beneath his cowl, Sheik shook his head.

"The Minuet of Forest only brings to the Sacred Forest Meadow, Link. To this very stone we now stand on, in fact. It would be of no use to try and travel elsewhere with it."

"... Oh. Well, that's... it's... oh, never mind. Let's just play the damn song already."

"As you wish."

As the melody echoed it's final notes in the trees around them, a soft sigh escaped Sheik. Tucking his harp away, he turned back to Link, surprised to see the Hero staring at him already.

"Is something the matter, Link?"

"I just... you seem to know so much about what I'm supposed to do, and where I'm supposed to go. I was just... wondering... who you really are, I suppose."

The Sheikah fell silent for several moments. He had known this would have come up sooner or later, and yet he was still not prepared to answer. Turning away as a pained look crossed his features, he spoke quietly.

"I... am a friend, Link. That is all you need know for now."

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><p><em>A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time...<em>

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><p>The blazing inferno that was Death Mountain Crater was almost too much for Sheik to bear. Using his magic to sustain both his appearance and the protective shield around him was taxing, and the longer he waited, the harder it would become.<p>

But he had to teach the Bolero to Link. It was vital.

The Hero, thankfully, had acquired himself a Goron tunic; Sheik was grateful that the full affect of the heat would not hinder Link in his quest. His new-found determination after awakening the Forest Sage showed clearly on his face as he played the notes Sheik had shown him.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through Sheik's chest, and his fingers slipped on the last note, the harp string twanging harshly off-key. Clutching his chest, he gasped, nearly dropping to his knees as the sensation turned to agony.

_'N-no! Not n-now!'_

"Sheik! Are you okay?!"

"D-do not come near!" Sheik raised a hand to stop the approaching man. His voice had contorted, and not only in pain. It was now slightly higher in pitch, as well, and it seemed as though there was a lilt to his words; one almost... musical.

Cursing his lack of magical stamina, Sheik rose unsteadily to his feet. A quick look up confirmed the worry that had been evident in Link's voice; his face was lined with concern, and he seemed about half a second away from disobeying the Sheikah and rushing to his aide.

As Sheik backed away, a wall of fire sprung up between the two. Rolling a deku nut between his fingers, he tucked his harp away.

"I'm sorry, Link, but I must leave now."

"Wait, Sheik-!"

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><p><em>Young love will become deep affection...<em>

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><p>The strain it took to remain as he was was taking it's toll on Sheik. He could feel it, slowly eating away at his being. If Link did not free the Water Temple soon and move on to the last two soon...<p>

The light of the rising sun glinted off the small amount of water that remained in Lake Hylia. Pursing his lips, Sheik locked his gaze onto it.

_'Any sign of him, at al-... wait.'_

Was the water... increasing?

"Nayru, I never should have doubted him..."

"Well, of course you shouldn't have. This is in my job description, after all." Link's voice sounded from behind Sheik. Turning, he saw the familiar form standing on the Water Pedestal, clothed in blue and soaking wet – but with a wide grin on his face.

Smiling beneath his cowl as the Hero approached, Sheik turned back to watch Lake Hylia restore itself. With the early morning sunlight warm on their bodies, the two watched the water return in companionable silence.

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><p><em>The only thing I can do for you...<em>

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><p>"Sheik?! What happened here?! Kakariko... it's-!"<p>

"Link, stay back! Please!"

"What the _hell _is that?!"

"It's – AHHHG!"

"SHEIK!"

"Sheik, please wake up! Link is hurt!"

Groaning at the persistent throbbing in his head, Sheik wearily blinked his eyes open as the voice bid him to. A small, blue-tinted girl was in front of his face.

"Navi? What-"

"That... that _thing_ tossed you around like a cuccoo, then went after Link and practically beat the crap out of him! He won't move, and I'm too small to get one of his potions or fairies out..."

As Navi's voice faded off, Sheik propped himself on his arms and looked around. Link lay not even three feet away. Moving over, he shook a green-clad shoulder; true enough, Link was unresponsive. With a small groan at his aching muscles, Sheik sat up and fished a red potion out of the bottomless pit Link kept strapped to his person. Prying out the cork and holding the Hero's lips apart, he slowly dripped the thick, crimson liquid into his mouth.

Once the potion had been consumed, Sheik sighed, then shifted Link so that his head lay on the Sheikah's lap. It began to rain; just a light drizzle, but enough to soak quickly through to one's bones. Absentmindedly, Sheik brushed a few stray raindrops from Link's cheek, his gaze not leaving his face for several moments.

_'If this is all I can do for you, then let it count for something...'_

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><p><em>Past, present, future...<em>

* * *

><p>"No riddles this time?"<p>

Sheik turned his head away as Link tilted his own. Unable to meet the Hero's gaze, he shook his head.

"You're so close to the end, now. Riddles hardly seem worth it anymore, no matter how poetic."

The desert wind whipped harshly around the two, stirring up a cloud of sand. Stashing his harp, Sheik pulled his cowl tighter around his face and squinted. Next to him, Link held his arm out to block the sand from his eyes.

"You're leaving now, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"... Why do I get the feeling I won't see you again?"

Already walking away, Sheik paused. Turning to look over his shoulder at Link, he watched him for a moment, then continued on, a whisper, so quiet that only the wind heard it, drifted away.

"You will."


	3. Making History

_200 Day Fic Challenge: Day 3_

_Prompt: Making History_

_Characters: Demise, Hylia_

_Word Count: 423_

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><p>The world was on fire.<p>

People ran from their homes, screaming as the flames overtook them. Man, woman, and child alike were burned to nought but cinder and ash. The demons that heralded such destruction took delight in their pitiful cries, licking eagerly at their wounds to taste the blood that welled forth as they were slaughtered.

From her perch on a hill, Hylia watched the demon army raze the small village to the ground. Salty tears threatened to spill from her sapphire eyes, and her hands were clenched painfully at her sides. As she watched on in abject horror, she failed to notice a familiar presence approach until he stood next to her.

"Now do you see the power I hold, your Grace? Now will you finally surrender that accursed relic to my hands, and put an end to this bloodshed?"

Demise's voice rumbled out like thunder, seemingly deep and endless in it's echo. There had been a time, she mused bitterly, when his voice had been so dear to her.

Now, hearing him speak left a bitter taste in her mouth.

His words seemed to snap something inside of the Goddess, and she turned to him; and in that instant, her true nature shone through. The rage and hatred she harboured became palpable, tangible static in the air between them, and her gaze burned with a fire that would not be extinguished.

"You will _never_ have the Triforce, Demise! I would go to Hell and drag you with me myself to prevent it."

Her words were hard as steel, and she burned, both with sadness and triumph, at having twisted his own words into a barbed sting.

_I would go to Hell and back for you... _yes, indeed, he would certainly be going. Coming back? She would trade her immortality to prevent such from happening.

Beside her, Demise stood silent and contrite, watching the burning landscape as if it were no more than an insect on a tree. He turned to Hylia, and for a moment, she thought she saw a remnant of the old Demise in his gaze; the Demise who had helped her to watch over the land and it's people.

She was wrong, though. His eyes were nothing more than molten fire, burning with all the foulness to ever be.

"Then the history of this world will be written in nothing but ash and blood, Hylia. Are you really so willing to sacrifice all to prevent me from gaining ultimate power?"

"... I am."

_Let the games begin._


	4. Rivalry

200 Day Fic Challenge: _Day 4_

Prompt: _Rivalry_

Characters: _Midna, Zant_

Word Count: 1634

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><p>To put it rather bluntly, this had been the<em> last <em>thing either of them had expected, let alone _wanted_.

It had started out as another relatively normal day on the battlefield. Midna, Lana, and a few hundred soldiers had been tasked with keeping Ganondorf's forces from making their way out of the desert; his minions had grown quite bold, and dozens upon dozens of his Stalfos soldiers had been capturing keeps left and right. This couldn't be had, of course.

From her perch on her Twili Wolf (_'nowhere near as much fun as the real thing had been'_, she thought idly), she'd overseen most of the battles with ease. Undead bones crumbled easily, and after only a few hours most of the keeps had been reclaimed by the good guys.

Until _he_ had shown up.

Probably having been sent in to back-up their quickly falling troops, the buffoon and come flying in and begun to spin around, scimitars flying as he disposed of not only the Hylian soldiers, but his own that were caught in the crossfire as well. Zant's erratic screaming could be heard all over the fields, and tides quickly turned in his favour.

Most of the soldiers on either side had already fled to their respective bases, fearful of dying at the hands of the Usurper King. Lana was injured badly, leaning heavily on her spear for support, and could do nothing but watch as Midna and Zant locked in a vicious power struggle a mere thirty feet away.

Zan'ts scimitars were crossed and pressing hard against Midna's near-sentient hair, the large, flame-orange hand grappling with the blades. Even so, it was clear who had the advantage. Helmet having been discarded some time ago, Zant bared his teeth in a feral grin and gave a hard shove against his rival, sending her flying back and hitting the nearest canyon wall, several yards back and inside a small cave. As she was propelled backwards, Zant rushed after her with a primal scream; but something was horribly amiss.

Midna's impact against the back of the cave had been so forceful that the canyon itself began to shake. Small rocks and bits of sand fell from the shock-wave, followed by much larger, Goron-sized boulders. As soon as Zant had cleared the cave mouth, the rocks fell in earnest, blocking off the hole and trapping the two Twili inside.

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><p>Jolting awake with a sharp gasp, Midna lurched up rather suddenly. The unexpectedly quick movement pulled at her side, and she cried out, falling back to the ground as she coughed violently to clear the dust from her lungs.<p>

All around her, everything was dark. Groaning at the aching pulse in her forehead, Midna gathered a small bit of Twili energy in her hands and formed it into a dimly glowing orb. Wincing as she adjusted to the light, she glanced around. The cave was completely empty, except for herse-

"WHAT?!"

Unsure if her eyes were playing her or not, Midna levitated the orb over to the shapeless form several feet away. Sure enough, as the light played across it and lit up various runes, a face came into view.

A face she'd _really_ rather not be trapped with right now.

Luckily for her, Zant was unconscious, a dark bruise forming over the turquoise runes on his forehead. Frowning, Midna pulled her tiny arms and legs into her deformed body, huddling as far away fro the usurper king as she could.

Midna sat there for what seemed like hours in the quiet of the cave, before Zant finally came to with a low, pained moan. She stiffened as his once-prone form moved and he sat up, gazing around the cave in a slight daze before he took notice of the light orb above his head. Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, he glanced around for it's source, and soon took notice of Midna across from him.

As he bared his teeth with a growl and prepared to launch himself at her, Midna rolled her eyes with a rather audible sigh.

"Calm down, Zant. If you move too violently, you could send the rest of this cave crashing down on top of us."

[At least then you'd be dead!] he snarled back at her a he lapsed into Twili, his eyes flashing dangerously. [What should I care if I bring the whole mountain down, if only to bury you under it?!]

"If you did that, you great louse, then _you_ would be dead as well, and unable to return to your beast of a master. Not that I would care, mind you, but I don't really feel like dying right now."

Mention of Ganondorf seemed to calm the enraged Twili down, much to Midna's surprise; she watched him curiously as his face morphed from one of murder immediately to one of worry. Zant lurched to his feet rather unsteadily, and he wandered over to the collapsed mouth of the cave. After a moments inspection, he dropped back to the ground with a moody sigh, avoiding turning his gaze onto the imp-like Twili behind him.

"... I thought you had reclaimed your proper form."

Midna froze in shock at the words coming from Zant's mouth; had she really just heard him try and make small-talk with her?!

Blinking, she shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts, then sighed, stretching out her stubby limbs idly. "I did. But then that witch Cia cursed me with the same spell _you_ used not so very long ago. I would've thought her death would have reversed the effect, but it didn't."

Zant nodded in thought, silent while Midna spoke. After silence stretched on between them for several minutes, a small, dark chuckle echoed over on his end of the cave.

"It matters not how it happened, I suppose. Either way, the imp form suits you best. Conniving little thief that you are." Zant's tone was low and dangerous-sounding as he turned to face Midna, His orange eyes were aglow with hatred as he stared at her, but his thin lips were quirked into a sadistic smirk, the slits at the sides of his mouth spread open slightly to reveal his fangs.

"... _Excuse me?! _I am _not_ a thief, you ludicrous, spastic excuse of a Twili! I've never stolen a thing in my life!"

_Well, there was the sword and shield incident with Link-... no, that's besides the point!_

"Hah! Do not lie to me, _princess_. You know very well what you've taken!"

"No, I don't think I do. Why don't you _elaborate_?"

She'd begun to push Zant too far; a high-pitched whine sounded from the back of his throat, and he bashed his hands on the cave floor, eyes wide and frenzied. "The _throne_, you foolish _imp_! You took the role of leader from me [when it was rightfully _mine!_]"

In his rage, he began to lapse back and forth between Hylian and Twili; Midna had not seen him this angry since he had first usurped the throne. Right now, however, she couldn't care less; thoroughly mad enough in her own right, she rose from the round in a flash, floating in mid-air as her hair swished angrily overhead.

[Did it ever occur to you that maybe I _never wanted the blasted thing in the first place?!_ That _maybe_, just _maybe_, it had been _thrust_ onto me just as it had been ripped away from you?! Don't blame _me_ for your inept ability to rule or having been passed over, blame _yourself_ and our elders!]

The air between the two was eerily quiet, filled with nothing but their harsh breaths and the tangible disgust held mutually for the other. Ember-coloured orbs stared hatefully back at yellow and red ones. It seemed as though both were about to make a move towards total annihilation when, out of nowhere, a rumbling could be heard. Puzzled, Midna and Zant looked towards the source of the sound – the rock pile that blocked their escape.

For a moment, nothing happened. The rumbling then grew louder, and just when it seemed that the entirety of the mountain were to collapse, a shaft of light broke through the rubble, and several voices could be heard outside.

"Midna! Midna, are you in there?!"

"Darunia, can you see-"

"Zant?!"

Eyes going impossibly wide, Midna floated over to the opening, peering out as she blinked at the harsh sunlight. Outside the cave, directly in her line of vision, stood several familiar people, two of whom she'd not expected to see in the least.

"Zelda? It's good to see you all, but... what are _they_ doing here?"

The young Queen glanced over to her right, where, rather surprisingly, Ganondorf and Ghirahim stood, both looking surly and sour, but with an undertone of... was it worry? She couldn't really be sure.

Turning to the imprisoned imp, a wry smile crossed Zelda's lips. "When Lana returned and told us that the two of you had been trapped in a rock slide, a ceasefire was called so that we could combine our efforts to rescue you and... Zant."

Behind Midna, the Twili in question gasped, rushing forward to peek out the hole for himself. "Master?! Ghirahim?! Y-you came to save me?"

Although neither let it show in their expressions, both those in question were clearly relieved; Ghirahim's rather tense form relaxed a touch, and Ganondorf spoke in a rather gruff, oddly quiet tone.

"Off course we did."

A small whimper slipped from Zant's lips, and after glancing back at him warily, Midna turned her attention to the Goron who'd been unearthing them.

"How fast do you think you can get us out of here, Darunia?"

"Hah hah! Fast enough, sister. I would say before sunset, most likely."

"Oh, good. The sooner we're out, the better."


End file.
